Control system and method for a wireless communications terminal

• US 20030125014A1
• Filed: 12/23/2002
• Published: 07/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawashima, Takashi, Shin, Hidehiko, Inukai, Hisamori
• Granted Patent: US 6,961,579 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/410
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

A wireless communications terminal 20 stores owner information and function states. A terminal control device 10 transmits, to the wireless communications terminal 20, control data 31 including control target information for specifying a terminal to be controlled and function state change information indicating a change made in the function states of the terminal. The wireless communications terminal 20 determines, based on the received control target information and the stored owner information, whether a function state(s) is to be changed or not, and changes the stored function states in accordance with the determination result. The wireless communications terminal 20 transmits, to the terminal control device 10, a process end notification 32 including the terminal'"'"'s own identification information and indicating whether the function state(s) has been changed or not.

Claims

1. A control system for at least one wireless communications terminal for controlling a function of the at least one wireless communications terminal, comprising:

a terminal control device; and

the at least one wireless communications terminal,

the terminal control device comprising;

control data generation means for generating control data including control target information to specify a terminal of the at least one wireless communications terminal to be controlled, and function state change information about a change made in a function state of the terminal; and

transmitting means for transmitting the control data generated by the control data generation means to the at least one wireless communications terminal, and

each of the at least one wireless communications terminal comprising;

function state storing means for storing the function state of the wireless communications terminal;

receiving means for receiving the control data transmitted from the terminal control device;

extraction means for extracting the control target information and the function state change information from the control data received by the receiving means;

determination means for determining, based on the control target information extracted by the extraction means, whether the function state stored in the function state storing means is to be changed or not; and

change means for changing, in accordance with a determination result obtained by the determination means, the function state stored in the function state storing means, based on the function state change information extracted by the extraction means.

2. The control system according to claim 1, wherein

each of the at least one wireless communications terminal further comprises owner information storing means for storing owner information of the wireless communications terminal, and

the determination means determines, based on the control target information extracted by the extraction means and the owner information stored in the owner information storing means, whether the function state stored in the function state storing means is to be changed or not.

3. The control system according to claim 2, wherein

each of the at least one wireless communications terminal further comprises response transmitting means for transmitting, to the terminal control device, a response which indicates whether the function state stored in the function state storing means has been changed or not, the response including identification information of the wireless communications terminal, and

the terminal control device further comprises:

response receiving means for receiving the response transmitted from the at least one wireless communications terminal;

process history storing means for storing the response received by the response receiving means as a process history; and

management means for changing, based on the process history stored in the process history storing means, a content of the control data to be generated by the control data generation means.

4. The control system according to claim 2, wherein

the function state change information includes function specification information including a value to be set in the terminal to be controlled and time specification information specifying a period of time during which the value included in the function specification information of the terminal is effective, and

the change means changes, only within the period of time specified by the time specification information, the function state stored in the function state storing means into the value included in the function specification information.

5. A terminal control device controlling a function of at least one wireless communications terminal, comprising:

control data generation means for generating control data including control target information to specify a terminal of the at least one wireless communications terminal to be controlled and function state change information indicating a change made in a function state of the terminal; and

transmitting means for transmitting, to the wireless communications terminal, the control data generated by the control data generation means.

6. A wireless communications terminal structured so that a function thereof is controllable by a terminal control device, comprising:

function state storing means for storing the terminal'"'"'s own function state;

receiving means for receiving, from the terminal control device, control data including control target information to specify a terminal to be controlled and function state change information indicating a change made in the function state;

extraction means for extracting the control target information and the function state change information from the control data received by the receiving means;

determination means for determining, based on the control target information extracted by the extraction means, whether the function state stored in the function state storing means is to be changed or not; and

change means for changing, in accordance with the determination result obtained by the determination means, the function state stored in the function state storing means, based on the function state change information extracted by the extraction means.

7. A control method for at least one wireless communications terminal controlling a function of the at least one wireless communications terminal by using a terminal control device,

the method being executed with a function state of each of the at least one wireless communications terminal being stored in the wireless communications terminal, wherein the method comprises:

a generation step, performed by the terminal control device, of generating control data including control target information to specify a terminal of the at least one wireless communications terminal to be controlled and function state change information indicating a change made in the function state of the terminal;

a transmitting step, performed by the terminal control device, of transmitting the generated control data to the wireless communications terminal;

a receiving step, performed by the wireless communications terminal, of receiving the transmitted control data;

an extraction step, performed by each of the at least one wireless communications terminal, of extracting the control target information and the function state change information from the received control data;

a determination step, performed by each of the at least one wireless communications terminal, of determining whether the stored function state is to be changed or not based on the extracted control target information; and

a change step, performed by each of the at least one wireless communications terminal, of changing the stored function state based on the extracted function state change information in accordance with the determination result.

8. A program executed by a wireless communications terminal for enabling control of a function by using a terminal control device,

the program being executed with a function state of each of the at least one wireless communications terminal being stored in the wireless communications terminal, comprising:

a receiving step of receiving control data including control target information to specify a terminal to be controlled and function state change information indicating a change made in the function state of the terminal;

an extraction step of extracting the control target information and the function state change information from the received control data;

a determination step of determining, based on the extracted control target information, whether the stored function state is to be changed or not; and

a change step of changing, in accordance with the determination result, the stored function state based on the extracted function state change information.